The Basics of DEV

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:00:02 GMT

Software development really isn't as hard as it seems. There's some basic things that can make it really easy. When you don't do these things, then softtware development can get very complex, very quickly.

Source Control - Unbelievably, most development shops don't use a source repository like Source Safe or CVS. Only one of the last four companies I've worked for have had source control in place when I got there. Two had no source control whatsoever and one of those was a Social Website startup that later sold for $millions. Once had source control within the company, but it wasn't centrally managed.
Change Control - Better known as bug tracking software, this is the process of creating, assigning and resolving bugs in your software. Three of my last four companies didn't have any at all and the other had the software bug didn't use it (at least I didn't). Most of those companies used Microsoft Excel to track issues.
Scheduling - Project scheduling software like Microsoft Project is also a necessity and I've not seen a project schedule that wasn't prepared by myself in years. I've received emails with major milestones deadlines, but that's like using Excel to track bugs.
Builds - A proper build can eliminate a lot of configuration issues. You may have heard a developer respond that the non-functioning website works on his desktop. That's like a configuration problem caused by not having a proper build process. Only one of the last four companies I worked for had a build prior to me joining.

This is four basic tools for removing the complex in software development. How many are you using?

Cool Programming

The Basics of DEV